Hand Tools

[jrblawncare]

&quot;Shovels,Rakes and Spades,Oh No&quot;..I have not seen this asked yet,As I look at the Leonard catalog and others I see high priced,quality hand tools are they worth the extra cash or do you go to Home Depot,Lowe's to get your hand tools?I have never used a 70.00 to 80.00 all steel spade,I guess I'm just a scrub.One of My distributors has Wolverine shovels they look great but 70.00.Happy 4th to all! <p>----------<br>John <p><p><font size="1">Edited by: jrblawncare

[Guido]

I Know I'll hear it for this one, But Sears Craftsman has those yellow fiberglass handled tools for $20.00 and they have a lifetime waranty!!!! In my opinionl, you can't beat that with a stick!! I wouldn't pay $70 for a shovel, thats nuts. Just my 2 cents though.<br><p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://communities.msn.com/guidosequipmentpics/&quot;&gt;&quot;Guido&quot;&lt;/a&gt;<br>David M. Famiglietti

[KirbysLawn]

UUUhhhhhh...I have those Sears Craftsman yellow fiberglass handled tools, work fine. :)

[thelawnguy]

Even fiberglas handles snap. Ill pick up a fiberglas handled shovel if I spy one at a yard sale, otherwise, Ive been running the same crapsman lifetime warranty descendant shovel for eight years now. Where else can you buy a shovel for $16/dozen :)<p>Bill

[Barkleymut]

Sears is where I pick up my shovels, pitchforks, and other hand tools. I like the lifetime warranty, but don't go in there with a company shirt or send your workers in to exchange a broken tool. By the way, why would you buy a fiberglass handle when the wood is guaranteed just as long?

[paul]

We buy all steel handle spades because they last forever, are heavier than a wood handle one giving you more power digging in heavy soil, can hold an edge much better. For rakes we also buy all steel ones with replaceable heads cost more but worth every penny they never break. Shovels we use fiberglass handles same as with pick and sledge hammer handles. <p>----------<br>paul<br>

[Guido]

Barkleymut, I like the fiberglass better because they're smoother and easier on the hand, and no splinters!<p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://communities.msn.com/guidosequipmentpics/&quot;&gt;&quot;Guido&quot;&lt;/a&gt;<br>David M. Famiglietti

[TGCummings]

Always buy my stuff at Home Depot or OSH. OSH is owned by Sears and has the Craftsman stuff as well, though that's more of a coincidence on my part than shrewd buying. ;)<p>-TGC

[Acute Cut]

rakes and shovels are one thing. Pruners are a whole nother thing. I have gone through a few pruners and hated them all. They are weak and get damaged easy. Untill i bought one of them 60$ pairs. WOW. The best hand tool i have now. When it comes to work that requires finess, dont go cheap.

[Eric ELM]

Acute Cut, what brand did you buy and which style? I agree, most cheaper pruners are not worth buying. <p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://pages.prodigy.net/eric.erickson/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

[steveair]

Hello,<p>I think I just saw those 'pruners' you are talking about. Are they made by Corona?<p>In the last couple of months, I've been seeing pruners/lopping shears go for 80 to 120 bucks. A LOT of money, but man are they nice! Built like bolt cutters.<p>I've gone through too many of the $20-30 dollar &quot;contractor grade&quot; models in my life, and think I will bite my teeth real hard and by a pair of these. <p>steveair<br>

[paul]

Look for Felco pruners they are the best made with replaceable blades and they even have replacement parts for them. One pair should last forever.<p>----------<br>paul<br>

[jaclawn]

I own a few of those high dollar tools. Are they worth it? Depends. You won't know the difference till you actually use it. It is kinda like comparing a Caviler to a Caddilac, they both accomplish the same task(transportation) but the Caddilac jusst seems to be a bit more pleasurable to operate. <p>

[trimmer]

yeah! Kind of like a hooker.

[osc]

What about mechanic's tool such as wrenches and sockets? This is where I personally like Sears for the money. What do you guys use and how elaborate is your set of tools?

[Ssouth]

OSC<br>As far as mechanics tools I carry a portable 90 piece ratchet set made by Husky. I picked it up at Home Depot for $42. The tools have a lifetime warranty (like Craftsman. The set includes a 1/4,3/8,and 1/2&quot; ratchet along w/ a 1/4 driver. I also have a set of 8 Craftsmen ratchet wrenches ( they work well), a dozen screwdrivers, several sets of pliers, a portable vise, three types of tape, lots of pull ties, and a hacksaw and sledge hammer for the problems that I can't fix. I carry many more tools with me, too many to list, but the ones listed are the most frequently used. <br>As far as hand tools I use the best I can find. <p>Ssouth<br>

[snow]

About the tool sets, for my birthday i got a 207 piece sears mechanics set. this tool set was going for $199 in sears's industrial catalog. i saw a flier in the paper on sale for $169, i called the indsutrial sales division and they cannot offer the same price.It has more tools than i know what to do with and all the tools have their own plastic drawers which are molded for only the tools that is supposed to fit in the place. i went to sears.com and ordered it. the set came earlier than expected, and i also could track the status of it. I also want to get a set of the craftsman quick wrenches and the pliers that automatically adjust to the nut size.<p>Bryan<p>----------<br><br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.snowplow.web.com&quot;&gt;The Snowplow Homepage&lt;/a&gt;

[gene gls]

I am rough on hand tools,especially handles.I look for certian styles of tools more so than brands or price.When it comes to pruning tools I am sold on Florian brand, just love the ratchet-cut. I carry the the small hand set in a belt case every day.

[Toddppm]

I've broken too many home depot tools to buy anymore, even the fiberglass handle ones. Broke a maddox head off last month. The iron they use is junk. My old steel one is great wish i could find another.Haven't tried sears for hand tools yet might have to try. The felcos are the beast pruners i've used, corona makes one similar but not the same quality i don't think. Got a demo Florian maxi lopper on ebay , That is an awesome pruner! that price is hard to handle but worth it.

[thelawnguy]

barkleymut, lifetime warranty or not, it still sux to have to drop what youre doing cuz you broke a handle. they all break, even steel, just how long you can go before the inevitable.<p>Bill

[kenneybros]

felcos rule!! there like 55 bucks, im glad i didnt have to pay for em!! oh and craftsman tools are probably the best thing for the money, and they will give you a new tool no questions asked.

[GroundKprs]

Eric and others looking for pruners: Felco has a long line of good pruners. For someone pruning for hours at at time, get Felco #7, with a rotating handle (for right handers - Felco #10 for LH). For small hands, get Felco #6 - every female client I have worked with on pruning has chosen this as the one to purchase (#12 is same with rotating handle, but that seems to feel larger). The original Felco #2 is a good basic starter tool. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amleo.com/&quot;&gt;AM Leonard&lt;/a&gt; carries the full line and and parts.<br>Key to easy pruning though is sharpening. A sharp blade cuts a lot easier. Used to use the fancy sharpening tools, but old timer got me using simple bastard file. It does just as good a job for 10%-20% of the cost. <p>----------<br>Jim<br>North central Indiana

[PLS]

That little triangle shaped sharping stone that Felco sells works real good too. I think it's only about 7 or 8 bucks.

[little green guy]

I buy all my hand tools at Home Cheapo. I buy the ames tools. There priced pretty good and hold up ok. I have yet to find a desent leaf rake that will hold up for more than a month. During leaf season forget about it, I think I went through as any rakes as i did gas. <p>I also like husky mechanics tools that they sell at home cheapo. I just like the way they feel better that crapsman. Home Cheapo sells huskey and if you break a crapsman tool you can bring it back to Home Cheapo and they will reaplace it with a huskey.<p>I too like the felco prunners. I definitly think they are the best

[paul]

If you guys think you can break a King of Spade shovel or spade try it my guys have. I've seen them stand on one prying up on a piece of concrete and I mean stand on it. Only thing that happens to them is sombody else sees them and they grow legs.<p>----------<br>paul<br>

[MOW ED]

When it comes to hand tools I try to remember this story, I know it deals with my other profession but I know its true for alot of us;<br>Put a firefighter in a straight jacket in a padded room for a 1/2 hour with 2 ball bearings. When you come back and check you will find one of the ballbearings is lost and the other one is broken.<p>I can lose or break anything so when it comes to hand tools I try not to spend too much. Good Luck.

[southside]

The best mechanics tools are Sidchrome and<br>Snap On.<p>Karl<br>

[jaclawn]

Paul- Aren't those king of spades awesome? You guys don't know what you are missing using cheapo spades.<p>